Toby: "I'm a small piece of the puzzle"

Toby Alderweireld played down his return to the side in Monday night’s battle with Everton, insisting the whole team deserves credit for the win and clean sheet.

The Belgian international defender came in for Davinson Sanchez for what was his first appearance since March, having been on the bench for our first three games following the Premier League’s restart.

He was one of two changes made to the side from last week’s loss at Sheffield United and made some vital clearances as we kept a hard-working Toffees outfit at bay.

“I’m a small piece of the puzzle and I’m happy to contribute,” Toby smiled after our 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. “We need everyone in the team to get good results, like we showed today. Eric (Dier, centre-back partner against Everton) is doing very well. We have a big squad and everyone has to be ready to play when needed. We have a lot of games coming up in a short space of time, so we need everyone.”

Giovani Lo Celso provided the decisive moment in a tight match, his shot deflecting home off Everton defender Michael Keane mid-way through the first half to give us maximum points.

“I think it’s very positive after a difficult result,” Toby reflected. “We showed character against a team that has good momentum, playing well and getting good results. It was very important to get three points at home and we did very well. They tried, but I thought defensively we were very good and not just in defence, the midfield and strikers did what they needed to do. That’s a team performance today. Okay, maybe we could have been a bit more dangerous, but that will come. This is the first good step.”

Does Toby feel the result gives us something to build on at Bournemouth on Thursday?

“We have to see game by game, and not think that the next game is going to be easy,” he said. “They are fighting to stay in the Premier League, and we need the three points. Sometimes football can be easy – three points, that’s all we need.”